Rock climbing and Bouldering Areas of Northeast Italy

The mountainous area of northeast Italy has numerous rock climbing, sport climbing and bouldering areas. The more popular ones are described below:

The Dolomites are a group of limestone Mountains close to the border of Austria that provide big wall rock routes up to 800m long. There is an abundance of classic routes at all grades many of which can be reached with fairly short walks from the road. In terms of length of route relative to approach time this makes the Dolomites some of the best value rock climbing worldwide. There are also many single pitch sport routes in the area as well as the classic Via Ferrata routes.

Rock climbing in Arco, near Lake Garda, is slightly further south than the Dolomites, lower lying, and therefore has a milder climate. There are over 130 sport crags and 30 long multi-pitch crags in the Arco area.  These provide over 5,000 routes to choose from at all grades on superb limestone rock.  Many of these multi-pitch routes are around 200m to 600m long with some big walls up to 1,400m long.

The Daone Valley offers high quality bouldering on granite rock, and is situated in the heart of the Italian Alps, to the west of Arco.  There are 10 developed areas with over 1,800 problems offering a great variety of bouldering, from roofs and overhangs to technical slabs. Spread across 14km of the valley, these 10 bouldering areas are situated at an altitude between 800m and 2,000m.  This means it is possible to climb from the spring through the summer to the late autumn in very different environments.  For example it is possible to boulder in a sunny meadow or in a thick wood, on the edge of a silent lake or inside the labyrinth of boulders formed by a rock fall. Buy the Daone Bouldering Guidebook from our shop.

The Trentino region has a great variety of bouldering across a wide area, with different types of rock, all of with is surrounded by a wonderful Alpine setting. A comprehensive guidebook called Trentino Boulder covers all of these areas around Trento from the Sarca valley to the heart of the Dolomites, covering 1,000’s of boulder problems.

Limestone is found at Arco, Sarca Valley, Rovereto, and around Trento. These limestone boulders often have jagged holds and sharp crimps, as well as flat holds and slopers.  The best time of the year to climb these boulders is in the winter, as they are often located in clearings at low altitude.

The Cembre Valley and the touristic Fiemme Valley are characterised by boulders of a very solid, porous reddish sandstone rock, with a rough grain.  The boulders are generally situated inside woods; therefore, it is possible to boulder all year round, with the exception of winter.

The Sugana Valley is characterized by granite rock, at an altitude between 1,000m and 1,800m.  The granite is particularly rough grained giving perfect friction.  It is possible to boulder in the Sugana Valley all year round, temperature and snow covering permitting.  The Pejo Valley is a beautiful bouldering area situated at an altitude of 1,200m. This area has a unique and very solid gneiss rock, with fine problems using crimps.

Napoleonica located just outside of Trieste, and Val Rosandra located close to the Slovenian border offer a good range of single pitch and multi-pitch sports routes at all grades. There is also some excellent rock climbing just across the border in Slovenia at Osp.  To the north of Udine, there are many small crags around the town of Tolmezzo, and further north in Carnic and Giulian Alps. The combination of these three areas offers plenty of rock climbing across a wide range of grades. Rock climbing is possible throughout the year though the ideal time is the spring and autumn. However at the lower lying crags around Trieste and Udine it is possible to climb during the winter, whilst the high Giulian Alpine crags are at their best during the summer.

The Trentino Boulder Guidebook comprehensively covers the bouldering at Arco, Sarca Valley, Rovereto, around Trento, Cembre Valley, Fiemme Valley, Sugana Valley, and the Sugana Valley.

Alpen en Bloc 1 is a selective guidebook covering the bouldering at, Daone, and Arco, along with Val di Mello and other areas in Switzerland. The Alpen en Bloc 2 guidebook covers 6 areas to the north and east of Bolzano in the Dolomites area of Italy, including Meisules, Steinerne Stadt, and Falzarego.

The Daone Boulder Guidebook covers  1,800 boulder problems spread across 10 different areas in the Daone Valley.